Richard Arlen Deatrick

HERINGTON - Richard A. Deatrick, 83, of Herington, died Saturday, December 31st, 2016, at the Herington Municipal Hospital.  He was born on October 8th, 1933, at Winfield, Kansas, the son of Kenneth I. and Rayda F. (Kanitz) Deatrick. 

A Celebration of Life service will be at 11:00 AM, Friday, January 6th, 2017, at the St. Paul Lutheran Church, Herington, with Rev. Bill Peterson, officiating.

He lived in the Hutchinson area for more than forty years and was a member of the Hutchinson Municipal Band for ten years.  He taught music for 34 years at Kiowa, Louis, Stafford, and the Buhler School System.  Another interest he had was photography, and he did wedding photography for more than twenty years. He belonged to the Hutchinson Emanuel Lutheran Church, Kansas Music Educators Assn., and the Kansas National Educators Assn.  He received his masters from Wichita State University, his bachelors from Southwestern College, and graduated from Winfield High School.  He served in the U. S. Navy from 1955-1957.  He was stationed at San Diego, Hawaii, Japan, and Vietnam.  During his stay in Vietnam his band played for Madam Nu Viet Family Palace. In July of 2000, he and his wife Clarendene, moved to the country home they built near Herington.  He was a member of the St. Paul Lutheran Church and sang in the choir.  His voice had a wide range and when needed he could be a tenor, but mostly sang baritone and bass.  He was good to fill in as back up choir director whenever the need arose.  He was known for his many letters to the editor published in the Herington Times.

He is preceded in death by his father Kenneth Deatrick, and his step-father Homer Lee Higdon.

He married Clarendene Koegeboehn, August 20, 1961, at Lincolnville.  She survives of the home in Herington.  He is also survived by his mother Rayda Higdon of Herington, and two daughters; Stephanie and husband Sandy Tucker of Hutchinson, Angela and husband Carey Sheck of Greenfield Center, NY; a son Brent Deatrick and wife Carol of Townsend, DE; a sister Karen and her husband Gerald Roberts of Harrisonville, MO, an uncle Ernie Kanitz of Winfield; his grandchildren: Kaitlin and Kylee Tucker, Claire, John, and William Deatrick; two step-grandchildren: Allison and Emily Malone and his nieces and nephews: Rachelle, Raymond, Julia, Jennifer, Lynette, and Glenn.

Memorials may be given to Paul & Opal Koegeboehn/Deatrick Scholarship Fund; and sent to Zeiner Funeral Home-Herington Chapel, 404 S. Broadway, Herington, KS, 67449-3038.